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Chris Watts Says He Got Idea To Blame Girls' Murders On Shanann From Investigators
“Honestly, I never even thought about that story until you guys mentioned it,” Watts said of his initial story that he only killed Shanann after she smothered their daughters.
Chris Watts, the man who killed his entire family last year with his bare hands, claimed he got his idea to blame his wife for the murder of their two young daughters from investigators during newly released interviews with those very same officials.
Watts pleaded guilty last year to killing his pregnant wife, Shanann, and their daughters, 4-year-old Bella and 3-year-old Celeste. Late last year, he was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the crimes.
Watts sat down with investigators from the Frederick Police Department, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation, and the FBI on Feb. 18 for a five-hour interview, which was released Thursday.
“Honestly, I never even thought about that story until you guys mentioned it,” he told them.
During the early stages of his first confession, Watts admitted that yes, he killed Shanann but claimed he did so after she killed their children.
Watts whispered to his father, referencing his wife, during that confession, which has been obtained by Oxygen.com. “She ... she smothered them ... they were smothered.”
He ultimately pleaded guilty to all three deaths and now says it was investigators themselves that planted that initial fiction in his mind.
“I never even thought about it until you guys mentioned it,” he said during the February interview with the authorities. “I just went with it.”
And, why did he go with it?
“I knew they (his family) would probably believe it because my mom and my sister just never really liked Shanann,” he admitted.
As a result, Watts received letters sent to him in prison from friends picking apart Shanann’s “dominant” personality.
He said that story was what his attorneys were going with but that he it wasn’t long before he told them the truth. He said his attorneys were quiet when he admitted to killing his own children.
“They said they wouldn’t judge me so I told them, I told them everything that happened and they appreciated it. Most of the time the defendant doesn't actually tell them what happened,” Watts said, adding he didn’t want his lawyers to work under a false pretense.
Watts said he didn’t want his attorneys to be “unprepared” or “foolish” in court.
